“Why do steaks turn brown after opening the package?”
It has to do with oxygen and a scientific word called "myoglobin".
When steaks are first cut they are a deep red, or purple color, and after a few minutes of exposure to oxygen they turn a nice bright red. This is called "blooming". Over a period of a few days, the myoglobin protein loses its ability to hold the oxygen and the meat will turn brown. By the way, the steaks are not aging, they are just getting old.
On occasion, the myoglobin protein and exposure to the light will cause steaks to have a "bluish/green" tinge when held to the light at a certain angle. This is most prevalent on Top Round and Eye Round steaks. Yes, the steaks are fine to eat.
Sometimes certain markets will pack steaks on top of each other without using steak paper in between the steaks. Where meat touches meat, they will turn dark. Again, it’s the lack of oxygen that causes the darkness.
The same process will turn the inside of hamburger brown. How many times have you bought a pound of nice bright red hamburger only to open it up and the inside is a dark brown? No, the meat department did not wrap NEW burger around the OLD burger and try to sell it!
It’s the lack of oxygen to the meat in the center. If the burger is packed loosely, the center will stay somewhat red for a day, maybe two, but after that it starts turning color. Some meat cutters, or meat packers, will cram as much hamburger into a package as possible. When this happens, the center can turn dark in a matter of a few hours.
As long as the hamburger meat is only a couple days old, it’s fine to use and eat.
